I am an African born in the Caribbean, the eldest of my 11 Siblings. I was fortunate to end up in the custody of my maternal Uncle and maternal Grandmother after being born to an unwed immigrant mother in the Caribbean.

Under my uncle’s loving care , I was encouraged to speak properly and was given the autonomy to explore my surroundings and to question my uncle on issues that puzzled me. I was encouraged to use my creativity and to read a lot.
The above foundation laid the premise for my inquisitive tones of my poetry and to invoke question and thought in my readers. I also seek to remind and record readers of historical events.

At eight years old I was sexually violated by an unknown assailant, I was told that I went from being a happy go lucky girl , to an angry troublesome child. It was at this time I was quickly jettisoned without any reason given to me back to the care of the woman who birth me.

I no longer enjoyed the free flow of dialogue , instead all I heard was to shut up, no one wants to hear you and your ramblings. I was subjected to verbal, emotional, psychological and physical abuse from her. My mother referred to my poetry as nonsense and crazy ramblings that will amount to nothing. I was a mere child of ten years old when this was being said to me, and so I gave up documenting my thoughts on the world around me, but I retained them in my brain .

“Spoken words from the mouth of this Babe” is the culmination of those ramblings. I have also written my life story, “Per Ardua Ad Astra” Latin for Through difficulty to success. The life story of one West Indian Girl. I am currently working on releasing another Collection “Reflections, Spoken words of an African Immigrant. I am also hoping to release the first in my children’s book series The Adventures of Nugget the dog.

I would like to pay tribute to my Maternal Uncle and Grandmother, and my inspiration for writing poetry Maya Angelou. I would also like to thank Dr. Mac for his infinite encouragement to pursue my writing, to my many friends who were my ears of approval or not when I read them my works initially.

Special thanks to Mrs. Judith Byer who saved my life after I was stabbed by my mother and nearly perished as a teenager. Lastly but not least to my God Mother Helen Weekes (deceased) who was an inspiring surrogate mother to me.

In the poem below, I seek to compare the society in which I reside in today , with that of ancient Rome. As we continually witness the dysfunction played out in the USA. It will be appearing in my upcoming anthology “Reflections, Spoken words of an African Immigrant. I am one of the nominees for Author of the year under the Divas of Color 2018.

Caesar’s Antics

An Original Poem by

Diana Benskin

Copyright@Diana Benskin

While Rome is Crumbling

Caesar is fiddling

Heads of State at loggerheads debating

And his Cabinet staff continue resigning

While Rome is Crumbling

Caesar keeps fiddling

The democracy he is not saving

From the brink of collapsing

Caesar’s leadership skills are not emerging

While Rome is continually crumbling

Another is tactfully recruiting

Those Romans whose skill is inventing

Rome’s citizens are protesting

Their cries Caesar is ignoring

While Rome is crumbling

Caesar is demanding

A show of military might Parading

And to the South a wall he will be building

While Rome is Crumbling

Caesar is rendered powerless as he is fiddling

By force or will Romans are exiting

An orchestrated purging

Caesar’s wish for ethnic cleansing

While Rome is crumbling

Caesar does what he is best at, fiddling

The coffers are no longer brimming

Rome once perched high, now a downward slope spiraling

While Rome is crumbling

Caesar pouts as he is fiddling

The world is watching

The Romans for Caesar’s impeachment they are calling

But at the throne he is steadfastly remaining

While Rome is Crumbling

Caesar has ramped up his fiddling

New laws he is implementing

Tactfully the once United Rome he is slowly dividing

To conquer and rule he will be winning

Romans arise and in Unity Resist!

To conquer Caesar we must persist

Get up Stand up and profoundly insist

This tyranny will no longer be allowed to exist

Advertisements

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

About Tony Tokunbo Eteka Fernandez

Tony Tokunbo Eteka Fernandez is an International Award Winner, Published Author & Poet, Broadcast Journalist, MC and Youth Empowerment Consultant . He is also The CEO of AFRICA4U and The Founder of Africans in The Diaspora
People also see him as a Cultural and Social entrepreneur, which means he is skilled in working with many different communities, bringing people together in successful focused events. Tony has organised many cultural events …involving both BME and mainstream communities. He is skilled in hosting events that reinforce community cohesion and bringing different kinds of people together. He has organised events in The UK, The U.S.A, Holland, Germany, Eastern Europe and Nigeria and has visited over 18 European Countries.
Tony has also organised The Black History Month Celebrations at The UK House of Parliament for three years in a row (2013,2014 and 2015).
He continues to promote the true life and success stories of Africans in Europe and Africans around the world and has organised several small scale literary and awards initiatives aimed at empowering young people.
He has also spent time as an International broadcaster and was The Producer and Presenter for AFRICA4U International Radio Talk Show at Reading4u Radio Station for nearly three years.
Tony has interviewed high profile Members of Parliament, Distinguished celebrities and some of Africas best musicians including Ivonne Chaka Chaka and Kanda Bongoman.
He has also been a guest on BBC Radio on numerous occasions to discuss the community cohesion events he organises at UK House of Parliament and also to recite some of his published work in memory of Nelson Mandela, 50 Years Anniversary of The race relations act and major community issues. Tony has also a Guest on popular Radio stations in Nigeria and The States
In the last few years he has been very passionate about Youth empowerment, community cohesion and cultural intelligence.
Tony was born in South London and has lived in several parts of England and Nigeria . He started writing at the tender age of nine, a habit he expressed with creative enthusiasm. Tony writes Poetry, short stories and proverbs on personal development. He is currently working on his 4th book which will also be his first novel. He is also into Public Speaking at Special events and Social functions and is a Mentor for young people in the UK Community.
He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at The University of Lagos, Nigeria in English and World Literature. He later went on to attain a teaching qualification at The Frances King International Training Institute, South Kensington London, it was here he studied Teaching English as a Foreign Language. He also studied Web Design at The City University in London.
He published his first book in June 1999 called “The Beauty in the Dark” (A Collection of Poetry which received critical acclamation in many circles around the world). .Tony’s aim in life is to inspire the young generation and to encourage the youth to make the very best of their dreams and aspirations,. He published a 2nd book in June 2009 called ” The Sound of Running Water” – A Family gift book of proverbs and quotations on Personal Development and Positive Thinking .
In December 2009, he published his 3rd book called “One Moment of Peace”.- A collection of Poetry inspired by personal experiences and spiritual growth.
Besides the fact that the Artist has won International online awards, he is mostly inspired by Life experience, love, music and cultural awareness. He was Resident Poet at the 5th London Poetry Festival in 2009 and has been a guest on BBC Radio on very many occassions including The famous Anne Diamond Show. He has also been a guest on a few SKY TV stations and several International Radio Stations around The World
On Wednesday the 30th of October 2013, Tony Tokunbo Fernandez organised his biggest event ever- The Black History Month Celebration at the House of Parliament. The Special Guest on the day was The Minister for Sports and Equalities MP Helen Grant and Key Community Ambassadors in The Black Community